1. Becoming a travel agent requires licensing. You can book travel under the umbrella of a registered travel business using their travel agency IATAN number. After a certain amount of sales and commissions earned you can apply for your own IATA number. As a travel agent you can book your clients’ travel using travel consolidators and marking up the price to earn a commission. Travel agents are required to be licensed and bonded. Some hotel chains require the travel agent to complete their own travel agents exam online in order to claim travel agent benefits. Becoming a home based travel agent has become a sought after home based business within the travel arena. Not all work at home travel agent businesses are created equal. Some members are unable to utilize travel consolidators and can only use their own replicated travel portal websites to book travel. The commissions here are very low and the main income comes from recruiting other members. Other travel agencies train the members to become fully fledged travel agents, where potentially the commissions on bookings can be much higher.

2. Marketing promotional travel certificates has become a popular business. The certificates can be resold to businesses or companies but generally can not be sold to the end user. Promotional items have become part of the marketing arena and create customer loyalty. If the promoter sells the certificate to the end user a license is required in most states and provinces in Canada. Everyone loves a good deal but many certificates have black out dates and require the spouse or partner to travel with the person registering the certificate. Some certificates require a timeshare presentation. As a work from home business, the promotional certificates generally generate smaller commissions.

3. Travel membership clubs have been the staple in the home based travel arena for over 14 years. They have progressed from those selling just promotional vacation certificates and discounted last minute travel to becoming full fledged travel agencies. Some even offer concierge customer service, have access to huge databases of resort vacations, cruises, flights, car rentals and more. Some home based travel businesses have the added bonus of earning rebates on travel booked from company portal websites. In order to resell travel, the home based travel company is required to be a licensed reseller of travel and should have their license number visible on their website. These discount travel memberships are popular not only as a way to earn money from home for many thousands of members, but are also popular as a real way to get deeply discounted prices for the savvy and frequent traveler. The commissions on travel memberships can be very high, many companies offering direct sales bonuses of over 50%.

Unlike other home based businesses and work from home opportunities, the travel industry offers a product with market recognition. Everyone knows what a vacation is and what a cruise might entail. Travel is a $7Trillion industry and continues to be a growing market with no signs of losing steam. It is also packaged as a fun industry. When asked, a dream vacation is one of the most wanted items atop a wish list.